


Relax

by ToxicPineapple



Series: Kaemaki Week 2020 [7]
Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: ;), Conversations, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Kaemaki Week, Kaemaki Week 2020, Maki is going through it, Nightmares, Post-Canon, That's right! More nightmare h/c from ToxicPineapple, When does it end you ask?, virtual reality au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:14:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25278286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToxicPineapple/pseuds/ToxicPineapple
Summary: Even when Maki isn’t actively having a nightmare, watching her sleep at times is… troubling. Tenko, for example, when she falls asleep, loses all wrinkles and creases in her features. She looks young, sometimes even younger than she is, as young as she was back when they were all in the simulation. All slightly parted lips and relaxed, soft looks.Maki is different. There’s a guarded quality to the way that Maki looks when she’s sleeping; a slight crease in her brow, a slight tick in her jaw. She grinds her teeth when she sleeps, and it got so bad at one point that they had to get her a mouth guard. She still sleeps with it in even now.---Maki has a nightmare and Kaede and Tenko help her through it.---Kaemaki week day seven: Free space
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Chabashira Tenko, Akamatsu Kaede/Chabashira Tenko/Harukawa Maki, Akamatsu Kaede/Harukawa Maki, Chabashira Tenko/Harukawa Maki
Series: Kaemaki Week 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821460
Comments: 10
Kudos: 49





	Relax

**Author's Note:**

> written for kaemaki week day seven! the prompt was free space :D

Kaede wakes up when the blanket is pulled clean off of her, and for a moment she thinks that it’s because she slept in again (though she doesn’t remember staying up super late last night on the piano) until she realises that she’s still on her side of the bed, with a dip in the mattress beside her that can only be her girlfriends. Maki isn’t in her arms anymore, though; only Kaede’s fingertips are still resting on her girlfriend’s shoulder, and she retracts them as she sits up, blinking disorientedly through the darkness in an attempt to get her bearings.

In the middle of the bed, Maki is curled up into fetal position, her forehead pressed against her knees and her arms wrapped firm around them. Even under the dim blue moonlight coming through their curtains, Kaede can see that Maki’s knuckles are white, with how tightly they’re curled into fists. Notably, her arms aren’t wrapped around Tenko, who was playing little spoon tonight, and who also sleeps like a rock, and thus is still snoozing peacefully on her side on the other edge of the bed.

Pressing her lips together, Kaede reaches over to turn on the lamp, and then over to Maki. Her girlfriend is trembling, in her sleep, her expression screwed up into one of anguish. There are many things that she could be seeing right now, but if Kaede had to guess… it’s probably related to Danganronpa.

It’s… mmm. There are a lot of things that Kaede hates, even now, about the killing game that they went through. But if she had to pick a least favourite, it would be that even after six years, Danganronpa continues to haunt them. Maki more than anyone else, if only because she was in there for so  _ long,  _ and on top of what she went through in the game she has all these memories of killing, and being tortured… she still can’t talk about some of those things, even now, and Kaede could never force her, but it tears her apart to see her suffering like this.

Maki isn’t the kind of person who is helped by being woken up from a nightmare. More likely she’ll lash out with violence, and even though Harukawa Maki, SHSL Assassin, was never a real person, she’s got every bit of the raw strength required to knock Kaede off the bed. Tenko would surely wake up by that point, and be able to help, but Maki has expressed,  _ explicitly,  _ that she doesn’t want it to have to come to that.

So instead of shaking her, or speaking to her, Kaede just rubs her shoulder, hoping to ground her in her unconscious state, provide some kind of comfort, even without waking her up. Kaede also reaches over to Tenko, only with that hand she rouses, rather than soothes, and it’s only a matter of time before Tenko’s rolled over and is gazing at her with wide, sleepy green eyes.

Tenko is very cute when she’s sleepy. Her eyes get all hazy and her nose wrinkles and her speech slurs, and she’s affectionate in a way that she never is when she’s wide awake. Tenko is always very affectionate, but when she’s fully conscious she’s there enough to be insecure, and thus she doesn’t initiate as many touches. This isn’t really the time to be thinking about how cute Tenko is, though. There will be time for that later, almost definitely. And the haze of sleepiness leaves Tenko’s eyes when she catches sight of Maki, curled up and trembling as she is, and then she’s sitting right up in bed, kicking off her blanket and peering down at their girlfriend.

When Tenko reaches out her hand to touch Maki’s face, Kaede notices she hesitates. There’s much reason to hesitate, in retrospect, even though Kaede hardly ever puts as much thought into her touches as Tenko and Maki seem to. Maki is shaking like a leaf, even under Kaede’s hand, and her expression is still contorted into one of pain. The yellow light coming from their lamp only heightens Kaede’s awareness of how pale her features are, and of every wrinkle in her forehead.

Even when Maki isn’t actively having a nightmare, watching her sleep at times is… troubling. Tenko, for example, when she falls asleep, loses all wrinkles and creases in her features. She looks young, sometimes even younger than she is, as young as she was back when they were all in the simulation. All slightly parted lips and relaxed, soft looks.

Maki is different. There’s a guarded quality to the way that Maki looks when she’s sleeping; a slight crease in her brow, a slight tick in her jaw. She grinds her teeth when she sleeps, and it got so bad at one point that they had to get her a mouth guard. She still sleeps with it in even now. Not necessarily because it’s still a big issue, but… it creeps back up on her, sometimes. Kaede’s just glad that she has it. Especially now, with this kind of nightmare, because Maki looks like she’s on the verge of tears, really, and she isn’t even  _ awake,  _ and Kaede has never seen her actually cry in her sleep before, so this just… it seems like a time where she’d need that mouth guard, is all.

After a while, Tenko reaches down to cup Maki’s cheek, and Maki uncurls herself just a little bit, tilting her face into the touch. Her expression doesn’t relax at all, though. It’s still contorted, pained, like she’s experiencing something incredibly traumatic. She probably is, in fact, and based on how she leans into the touch instead of jerking away, Kaede doesn’t think it’s related to her false memories of her assassin training.

Which means it’s related to the killing game, instead. Kaede shifts her position, hooks her chin over Maki’s shoulder and presses a kiss to her neck. There’s a hissing exhalation from the other woman, and her shoulders drop, and out of the corner of her eye Kaede can see her grip on her knees starting to relax. The colour returns to her knuckles once they’re not so tightly curled, and Kaede keeps on rubbing Maki’s arm, slow and steady, gentle, but firm, and after a while Maki’s legs loosen, and slump, and then she’s just trembling in Kaede’s embrace, and under Tenko’s hand.

Kaede lifts her gaze, seeks out Tenko’s eyes, finds them. They look at each other for a moment, and Kaede takes in the crease in Tenko’s brow, the way her lips are pressed together in concern. Even after all this time, seeing Maki in pain, having nightmares, it’s never gotten any easier. It’s hard to remain assured that everything is fine when everything has been so  _ not  _ fine, for as long as they can remember. When Kaede still screams and bolts when she hears the  _ Flea Waltz,  _ when Tenko still wakes up shivering and clutching at the back of her neck.

Luckily, that’s what Kaede is good at, acting like things are fine. She lifts her hand off Maki’s arm, just for a moment, and reaches out to cup Tenko’s jaw, brushing her thumb over her cheek. She gives a reassuring smile, and Tenko appears to melt into the touch, her brow still furrowed, but her eyes fluttering closed. Kaede feels her chest pulse with warmth. Wow, she really loves Tenko. Love a girl. What a fantastic girl.

And then, between them, Maki stirs. She makes a soft whimper in the back of her throat, and then tenses up her whole body, and as Kaede is lifting her head to see her better, Maki’s eyes fly open, the red burning and bright and panicked, even in the somewhat dimmer light of their bedroom. Kaede and Tenko both shift away a bit to allow her space.

But though Maki’s eyes dart around the space as though she’s looking for an enemy, to be attacked, when they settle on Tenko, and then Kaede, her expression crumples, and she shuffles over closer to Kaede, lifting her arms like she’s asking for a hug.

Kaede exhales, somewhat sharply, but obliges, shuffling closer and tucking her arms underneath Maki’s. Carefully, delicately, Kaede pulls Maki upright, sitting her gently in her lap. Maki trembles in Kaede’s embrace, and Kaede is wary of this as she tucks the other girl into her arms. One of Kaede’s hands rests itself on the small of Maki’s back, and the other shifts to cup the back of her head, combing through the short hairs at the base of her skull. She got an undercut about a year ago and has been maintaining it since, and among other things it is  _ extremely  _ pleasing for Kaede as far as running her fingers through.

It’s nice, also, to be doing it with the knowledge that it’ll calm Maki down, make her feel better. That’s all Kaede can ask for, really.

After a while, Kaede starts to feel moisture soaking into her shoulder where Maki’s face is tucked, and she hums, very quietly, just rubbing her girlfriend’s back. She keeps her voice soft, delicate, and warm, tucking her face in by Maki’s ear to speak. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” Maki rasps out, and her voice, so harsh as it would be under ordinary circumstances, is thick, and a bit choked up with her tears. Kaede lets out another hum, whispering an,  _ okay,  _ but Maki isn’t finished, it seems. “It’s stupid. There’d-- there’d be nothing to talk about, anyway, it was just a stupid nightmare, a-and it wasn’t real, so.”

“It doesn’t have to be real for Maki to be rattled by it,” Tenko murmurs, and Kaede lifts her gaze to her other girlfriend, who sits cross-legged at the head of the bed. Tenko’s head is tilted, and her expression coloured with concern, but otherwise she seems perfectly content to be sitting there, her hands wrapped around her socked feet. If it’s Kaede’s arms who Maki sought out upon waking up, most likely, her dream had something to do with Kaede. It happens. Sometimes Kaede wakes up screaming Tenko’s name, and sometimes Tenko has to rush from Maki’s arms to grab the phone and dial Yumeno and make sure she’s okay, nothing happened to her. It’s normal. Sometimes, one person’s arms are more comforting than another’s.

“Obviously not,” Maki says, still thickly, and she scoffs into Kaede’s shirt, which makes Kaede smile, a little, despite the worry still clenching her gut. “I’m-- I’m obviously rattled, or I wouldn’t be crying into Kaede’s arms like some kind of moron.”

“You’re not a moron for crying into my arms,” Kaede chastises, gently, slipping her fingers through Maki’s hair another time. “I cry into your arms plenty. And Tenko’s. You’d never call me a moron.”

Maki pulls back a bit, so that she can pout at Kaede, and the expression makes Kaede smile harder, because even though Maki’s eyes are puffy and her face is streaked with tears, the expression is still adorable, and so fundamentally Maki that Kaede can’t make herself be too serious. Maki seems to soften, maybe in response to Kaede’s smile, because she averts her gaze after a moment, sighing and resting her cheek back against Kaede’s forehead. “I know,” she mumbles, wrinkling her nose. There’s a silence, and then, “It’s annoying when you’re right.”

“Oh, I’m  _ so sorry,”  _ Kaede grins, peering down at her girlfriend. “I’ll have to make a conscious effort to stop doing that for you, then, because it happens  _ often.” _

__

“I hate you,” Maki grumbles, “you’re such an idiot.”

“Iruma-san doesn’t call me Bakamatsu for nothing!” Kaede exclaims, brightly, and the huff that she gets out of Maki for it makes her giggle. Kaede lets the silence settle for a moment before messing up Maki’s hair a bit, and giving her a softer, more serious look. “But really, Maki, how are you feeling? Do you need anything?”

“Mmmmm,” Maki’s eyes flutter shut, and her expression is completely smooth, completely relaxed, in a way that it could never be in sleep. Maki only relaxes fully when she’s conscious, when she knows that it’s Kaede and Tenko here and nobody else. That way, Kaede knows, Maki knows she’s safe. “Keep holding me,” she murmurs, then adds, “and Tenko, come here, I don’t know why you’re just sitting there.”

“Oh, Tenko’s sorry!” Tenko says, at once, shuffling over to curl her arms around Maki from behind. “She didn’t know if Maki needed space or not, so she thought she’d wait!”

“How could I be in this position when I need space?” Maki asks, incredulously, without opening her eyes. Tenko sputters a little, but before she can say anything, Maki speaks again. “I’m just joking with you. I appreciate it.” She pauses, pressing her lips together, like she’s trying to suck her tongue down her throat. “I love you. Both of you.”

It’s hardly ever Maki who  _ initiates  _ the  _ I love yous.  _ Kaede smiles, softly, rubbing her cheek against the top of Maki’s head and shifting her arms so they’ll encircle both of her girls. “Love you too, Maki,” she murmurs, “Tenko.”

“Tenko loves you both also!” Tenko says, brightly, a bit too brightly for this early in the morning. If Maki cares at all, she doesn't say so. She doesn’t say anything at all, actually. She appears to be drifting off again, in both of their arms.

But better this time, it seems. Kaede smiles, kissing Maki on the head, and closes her eyes too, absorbing the peacefulness of the moment, and the sound of birds singing outside their window.

**Author's Note:**

> aha! another week done. i still need to read and comment on a fuck ton of entries and get a move on but for now, here we are! my final piece
> 
> ngl i was a little worried i wouldn't complete the challenge [sweats] which would've been SO awkward considering that i was the one hosting it. but here we are! some fresh new lesbian content to share with the world
> 
> thank you so much to everyone who participated, and to everyone who still plans to participate; i love you dearly, your support and your participation and your beautiful works were totally, totally appreciated. really made kaemaki week fun to do.
> 
> i hope to see you all again next year if it so happens that i end up hosting kaemaki week again in 2021. until then, see you around!!! <3


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